Introduction
Dave Hope (bass), Phil Ehart (drums, percussion), and Kerry Livgren (guitars, keyboards, synthesizers) formed a progressive rock group in 1970 in their hometown of Topeka, Kansas, along with vocalists Lynn Meredith and Joel Warne, and keyboardist Don Montre, keyboardist Dan Wright, and saxophonist Larry Baker. The band went through some lineup changes (even forming two versions of Kansas, at one point), Ehart was replaced by Zeke Lowe and later Brad Schulz, Hope was replaced by Rod Mikinski on bass, and Baker was replaced by John Bolton on saxophone and flute.
Leftoverture (their fourth album) was a major breakthrough for the band, hitting number 5 on Billboard's pop album chart. Point of Know Return peaked even higher, at number 4. Leftoverture and Point each sold over four million copies in the U.S. Both 'Carry On Wayward Son' and 'Dust in the Wind'. 'Dust in the Wind' was certified gold as a digital download by the RIAA in 2005, almost 30 years after selling one million copies as a single. Leftoverture was eventually certified five times platinum by the RIAA in 2001. To say that the band achieved phenomenal success is an understatement. They continue to tour today, to sold out crowds.
The Song
'Dust In the Wind' is a beautifully written composition. Strong chord progression, melody and lyrics, they must have known it was a hit song form the first playback. It is a staple in music stores, almost as popular to play as 'Stairway To Heaven'. The fingerpicking is a strict common pattern, but quite difficult to play at the recorded tempo. I recommend starting slow, making sure all notes are clean, then gradually increase the tempo. In fact, this is the way to approach learning any song. If you can't play it slow, you can't play it fast! The tempo is around 96 bpm, but the mixture of eights and sixteenths are still hard to execute at this speed.
The Intro
The chord progression is beautiful. The intro is based around two chords, C Major and A minor. Am is the relative minor to C Major, they share the same key signature (no sharps or flats). The song is diatonic, meaning it is contained in one key: C Major. During the intro, the bass notes of the cords remain static, while the upper melody notes change. The fingerpicking pattern has the common form of the bass notes (played with the thumb), maintaining (in this case) a strict eighth note pattern (1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and). This is sometimes referred to as an 'educated thumb'. It is the index and middle finger that add the syncopated spice to the sound. This pattern continues throughout the song. I have notated the pattern in the first measure: T (thumb) I (index) M (middle). It will take some time to get the pattern 'rolling', that is where is sounds smooth, but diligence will pay off!
http://hubpages.com/hub/Dust-In-The-Wind-For-Guitar-Kansas-Fingerpicking-Chords-Tab-Lyrics
Dave Hope (bass), Phil Ehart (drums, percussion), and Kerry Livgren (guitars, keyboards, synthesizers) formed a progressive rock group in 1970 in their hometown of Topeka, Kansas, along with vocalists Lynn Meredith and Joel Warne, and keyboardist Don Montre, keyboardist Dan Wright, and saxophonist Larry Baker. The band went through some lineup changes (even forming two versions of Kansas, at one point), Ehart was replaced by Zeke Lowe and later Brad Schulz, Hope was replaced by Rod Mikinski on bass, and Baker was replaced by John Bolton on saxophone and flute.
Leftoverture (their fourth album) was a major breakthrough for the band, hitting number 5 on Billboard's pop album chart. Point of Know Return peaked even higher, at number 4. Leftoverture and Point each sold over four million copies in the U.S. Both 'Carry On Wayward Son' and 'Dust in the Wind'. 'Dust in the Wind' was certified gold as a digital download by the RIAA in 2005, almost 30 years after selling one million copies as a single. Leftoverture was eventually certified five times platinum by the RIAA in 2001. To say that the band achieved phenomenal success is an understatement. They continue to tour today, to sold out crowds.
The Song
'Dust In the Wind' is a beautifully written composition. Strong chord progression, melody and lyrics, they must have known it was a hit song form the first playback. It is a staple in music stores, almost as popular to play as 'Stairway To Heaven'. The fingerpicking is a strict common pattern, but quite difficult to play at the recorded tempo. I recommend starting slow, making sure all notes are clean, then gradually increase the tempo. In fact, this is the way to approach learning any song. If you can't play it slow, you can't play it fast! The tempo is around 96 bpm, but the mixture of eights and sixteenths are still hard to execute at this speed.
The Intro
The chord progression is beautiful. The intro is based around two chords, C Major and A minor. Am is the relative minor to C Major, they share the same key signature (no sharps or flats). The song is diatonic, meaning it is contained in one key: C Major. During the intro, the bass notes of the cords remain static, while the upper melody notes change. The fingerpicking pattern has the common form of the bass notes (played with the thumb), maintaining (in this case) a strict eighth note pattern (1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and). This is sometimes referred to as an 'educated thumb'. It is the index and middle finger that add the syncopated spice to the sound. This pattern continues throughout the song. I have notated the pattern in the first measure: T (thumb) I (index) M (middle). It will take some time to get the pattern 'rolling', that is where is sounds smooth, but diligence will pay off!
http://hubpages.com/hub/Dust-In-The-Wind-For-Guitar-Kansas-Fingerpicking-Chords-Tab-Lyrics